President-elect Donald Trump sharply criticized the Biden administration on Tuesday, claiming that billions of U.S. dollars are being funneled to “the Taliban Afghanistan”.
“It’s not even believable. Billions of dollars, not millions—billions,” Mr. Trump said. “We pay billions of dollars to essentially the Taliban Afghanistan. And that’s given by Biden.”
In his remarks, Mr. Trump alleged that President Biden’s decisions had inflicted severe economic harm on the United States, referencing losses he estimated at up to $60 trillion.
“That’s the same man that took away $50 to $60 trillion worth of value from the United States,” he said, though he did not offer details or evidence to support the figure.
Mr. Trump also alluded to U.S. land holdings and other national assets, declaring, “625 million acres, this can’t be allowed to happen,” though he did not clarify the context of the statement.
This comes after debate among some US congressmen, including Tim Burchett, who in a letter to Trump, has outlined his concerns about U.S. financial aid allegedly benefiting the Taliban, citing reports of funds transferred to Afghanistan under the Biden administration. He called on Trump, as the incoming president, to prioritize halting such payments and ensuring greater transparency in foreign aid allocations.
Mr. Burchett has pointed to claims that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Afghanistan had paid taxes to the Taliban, which now controls the country’s government. He also raised alarms about cash transfers to Afghanistan’s central bank, warning that the funds could be misused to finance terrorism.
He has also pointed to large cash shipments sent to Afghanistan’s central bank, suggesting they are difficult to track and vulnerable to exploitation by the Taliban. “These cash shipments are auctioned off, and after that, they are nearly impossible to trace. This is how the Taliban is being funded and plans to fund terrorism around the world,” he alleged.
Mr. Burchett’s concerns mirror a growing unease among U.S. lawmakers over the possibility that international aid intended for humanitarian purposes could be exploited by the Taliban. The U.S. government has denied providing direct aid to the Taliban.
